A Second Life Roadrunner

Ape Piaggio has crafted some of Second Life’s more unusual vehicles, be they for land, air, or water (or even some combination thereof). and by “unusual”, I mean fun.

I’ve covered many of them in these pages, and am admittedly a confirmed fan of her work. Most recently, I’ve been involved in the development of her LS33W AirFish (read here for more). That project has been taking a little longer than anticipated, but there’s a good reason for this: Ape has been busy with a fun vehicle that’s she launched at the end of November: the SG33E Roadrunner.

This is a fun little 2-wheeler for running around on – particularly along the road networks of the Mainland, where I spent time testing it. Probably the best way to describe it is a marriage between an electric motor and a traditional push scooter that’s been given a few steroids to beef it up.

From boxed to “assembled”: the SG33E Roadrunner (note the black marks on the optional rezzed fenders are baked shadows for when the optional parcel racks are used)

Delivered in a neat packing case – itself a trademark of Ape’s products (and which will deliver a texture pack as well, when unpacked), the Roadrunner rezzes in its stowed mode – handlebars folded against the footboard, awaiting attention. Select Sit Here from the right-click context menu / the pie menu, and a neat animation will play, causing your avatar to kneel and unlock the handlebar before raising it to its upright position, and then “stepping” aboard the scooter.

At the same time the handlebars are unstowed, a Quick Start guide is displayed in local chat (user only – not general spam) listing the basic driving controls. Using the Touch option will list the Roadrunner’s menu, including the permissions options (who can drive / ride on the scooter); the adjustment options for correctly positioning avatars (the scooter can be resized); access to the couples poses (cuddles plus a couple of adult poses), and the scooter’s accessories options – of which more anon.

Readying the Roadrunner for riding

The basic controls are easy enough to master, and the simple fact is, with a little consideration for SL’s eccentricities, the Roadrunner is a great little ride – and be sure to check out the cute “reversing” animation.

The Accessories option adds to the Roadrunner, allowing a degree of customisation. This includes recolouring, plus the rezzing of the front and rear well fenders and / or the front and rear luggage racks. The racks also include headlights and tail-lights for night driving.

The accessories menu

Also included in the Accessories menu are the battery / recharge options. The former allows the Roadrunner to behave like a real electric vehicle: running only as long as there is sufficient charge in the battery. When it has expired, or is close to expiring, the recharge option can be used. This will display the solar-powered battery charger which, as it is attached to the scooter, doesn’t require rezzing rights in order to appear.

The Roadrunner is additionally capable of carrying passengers. Providing the driver is already on-board and permissions are set, a passenger can right-click and sit on the scooter – this will display the rear luggage rack, which is used as a passenger seat.

At L$350, the SG33E Roadrunner isn’t going to break the bank, and it weighs-in at just 6 LI. Those those who enjoy road vehicles, it offers a fun and unique means of both travel and exploration around the Mainland.

I have a Sumi Motochamp and it’s a fun little scooter/motorcycle. It’s controllable and enjoyable to ride and has an automatic pack/unpack. I heartily recommend this as a handy and neat form of transport.

Another fun way to explore – driving the SL highways is like taking a road trip through the looking glass, or maybe Oz. It’s fun and a great way to discover people and appreciate the art of making your home on the continents. Great fun!

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